“When I started in “L’amour est dans le pré”, fourteen years ago, I asked stupid questions to the farmers. Some people thought I carried my bucket to feed the animals like a handbag. » On November 6, Karine Le Marchand had not forgotten her sense of self-deprecation when she was decorated, at the Ministry of Agriculture, with the Officer’s Cross of Agricultural Merit. A distinction rewarding “services rendered to agriculture”.
Ten years earlier, she had been made a Knight of the same Order. “This decoration could make you smile at the time when you know how much of an urbanite I am to begin with,” admitted the M6 host in her speech. Since then, it has gained legitimacy. Facing the audience in gala dress, she confided that her experience in the show dating countryside allowed him to learn to distinguish a Montbéliarde from a Limousine. “Above all, I understood the dismay of this corporation whose values touch and speak to me, the fear of tomorrow, you who are dependent on the weather and aid, the feeling of inferiority which assail you in a society which does not value than intellectuals,” listed the figure on Channel 6.
“She does not allow herself to be influenced by unions or lobbies”
Near 20 minutes, Guillaume, breeder and educational farm manager who appeared in the 17th season of “L’Amour est dans le pré” agrees: “Karine is a very good ambassador for agriculture because she doesn’t just present a program on agricultural romances: she goes to the farms, she questions, she investigates, she takes the time to meet the farmers to best understand their constraints, their concerns and their imperatives. It is independent and does not allow itself to be influenced by unions or lobbies. »
Shortly before receiving her decoration, Karine Le Marchand presented to the press the documentary, directed by Delphine Cinier, which she produces and stars: “Farmer families, 100 years of history”. In two hours, a broad panorama of French agriculture since the Second World War is retraced. The result is not only illustrative, we can find a certain engaged dimension in it.
“The ultimate weapon is the media”
The producer makes no secret of it: she would like the general public to have more consideration for farmers and also to highlight the problems that they have to face on a daily basis. “Thanks to “Love is in the meadow”, the image of agriculture is changing. Now we also have to fight, and the ultimate weapon is the media,” she says.
With archive images and following six families today, the film tells the story of the evolution of the profession, its joys and its difficulties. It discusses the place of farmers’ wives, meager pensions, the fall in producer prices, debt, strategies of diversification or conversion to organic… “Farmers are always on the edge , the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) does not favor French agriculture,” said Karine Le Marchand during the press conference while the witnesses of the documentary, who had made the trip, agreed. At the end of “Peasant Families”, she talks about levers on camera, such as the reduction in charges for the employment of seasonal workers, for example. “It’s all a question of political will,” she concludes.
Does she think she can make a difference? “I still hope to have weight. However, I regret that when we do TV we are heard more than the people concerned,” she replies.
“She doesn’t mince her words”
Mathieu Ceschin, who marked season 15 of “L’amour est dans le pré”, does not deplore this observation. “Karine knows each trade in the agricultural world perfectly. She has a very pragmatic approach to problems related to agriculture. His analysis provides solutions that we know to be true, he tells us. She does not mince her words and shouts loudly that the main culprit is a lack of political courage. It enters all homes, all organizations, all government bodies. Today, no one meets so many good criteria to be the perfect ambassador. »
Perhaps not all farmers in France will subscribe to this speech, but those who met her as part of “L’Amour est dans le pré” are won over. Several were also invited to attend his decoration presentation at the ministry. “Your presence this evening makes me think that you have never felt betrayed,” she greeted them. And to continue: “This distinction honors and commits me. You can always count on me to be the link between those who believe they know what is good for you, despite yourself sometimes, and what makes you fully happy. This happens, I believe, through understanding what you do, recognizing what you are and the freedom that you must acquire as much as possible. »